Sheriff Clarence Dupnik's claim that Arizona has become a 'Mecca for prejudice and bigotry', and that political 'vitirol' may have pushed the Safeway shooter over the edge, has sparked a national debate.

It is not yet clear why a gunman, believed to be 22-year-old Jared Loughner, went on a terrifying rampage in Arizona yesterday, killing six people and wounding a further 12.

But whatever his reasons, the local sheriff - who is coordinating the investigation with the FBI - believes it is time for America to do some soul-searching.

The power of speech: Vera Rapcsak, foreground, and others hold up signs outside Gabrielle Giffords office in Tucson after the shooting yesterday

Flashpoints: Left, Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot through the head at point blank range in Arizona yesterday. Right, Sarah Palin, who is under fire for using inflammatory political rhetoric

'When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol
that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government,'
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told a news conference.

'The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is
getting to be outrageous.

'And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become
sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and
bigotry.'

He added: 'That may be free speech. But it's not without consequence.'

Suspect Jared Loughner: Did the inflammatory rhetoric that characterises American politics today push this 'unstable' student over the edge?

The suspect in custody is refusing to talk to police and his motive remains uncertain.

But in his internet ramblings, Jared Loughner alluded to his hatred of ‘federalist laws’, a sentiment shared by many Americans who resent ‘big government’ from Washington.

Police believe U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - who was shot through the head but miraculously is expected to survive - was the target.

Though Mrs Giffords owned a gun and supported Arizona’s lax weapon-licensing laws, her backing of President Obama’s healthcare reform bill attracted the ire of Sarah Palin and members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party.

In March, Mrs Palin released a 'target list' of Democrats she wanted to see unseated in the November mid-term elections. Mrs Giffords was on the list.

At the time Mrs Palin drew criticism for telling her followers 'Don't retreat - instead, RELOAD!'

Critics at the time suggesting her inflammatory words and use of a crosshairs image was inciting violence.

Mrs Giffords herself said in an interview that she did feel she was a target - and that Mrs Palin had to realise that such rhetoric 'has consequences'.

Yesterday Mrs Palin expressed her sorrow and support for Mrs Giffords in the wake of the shooting - and there has been no indication whatsoever that the gunman had even seen her target list or admired her rhetoric.

Incitement? Sarah Palin's 'target list' of Democrats she wanted to see removed in the November mid-term elections - including Gabrielle Giffords

Beyond politics: Today Mrs Palin used her Facebook page to post her 'sincere condolences' to the victims of the shooting

It was not even clear what side of the political spectrum Loughner fell on: in a YouTube profile he claimed to have studied both Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto, while his ramblings appeared to be anti-government in general.

Even so, Mrs Palin's online followers did not hold back.

'What a hypocrite you are,' wrote Kathy Henn.

'You targeted this woman - literally with a target on her district - one of your freaky Fox followers hunted her down - and now you try to distance yourself from blame.'

Kirsten Sherk added: 'A child was killed today by someone who can't tell the difference between 'inspiring' speech and a call to arms. I was appalled by your violent speech before, I'm horrified now.'

But Ben Smith of Politico pointed out that there is no evidence Loughner was influenced by mainstream American politics at all, let alone Sarah Palin in particular.

Citing Loughner's online rantings, Smith writes: 'The obsession with the gold standard and the hostility to the federal government resonate with the far right, the burned American flag with the left, but the discussion of mind control and grammar sound more like mental illness than politics.'

Mrs Palin was just one flashpoint as a debate raged over the darkening nature of American politics in the wake of the shooting last night.

Frustrated: Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik could not hide his anger at the 'vitriol' that he said may have caused the already-unstable gunman to react by going on a shooting rampage as he spoke at a press conference yesterday

And her target list was the least of the inflammatory political issues dividing Arizona - and on which Mrs Giffords had taken a stand - in the lead-up to the rampage.

Just hours after Mrs Giffords voted in favour of Mr Obama's healthcare bill – which introduced subsidies to enable Americans to buy private health insurance but stopped far short of the universal plan advocated by Left-wing Democrats – the door of her Tucson office was peppered with shotgun pellets.

She also was pilloried for supporting stem-cell research and abortion.

Share this article

Share

However, she alienated liberals by taking a hardline conservative position on other issues, notably gun control and lobbying for military personnel to be stationed on Arizona’s border with Mexico in order to stop illegal immigration.

A congressional insider said last night: ‘A lot of people hated Gabrielle. Her misfortune is that she lives in a country where, if you disagree with someone, you can go down to your local supermarket, buy an automatic, kill them and be seen as a hero.'

Even before the shooting yesterday, the state of Arizona was in the throes of a convulsive political year that had come to symbolise a bitter partisan divide across much of America.

Time to take a step back: A seven-year-old girl flashes a peace sign at a vigil outside Mrs Giffords' Tucson offices last night

After an acrimonious election in November that followed months of bitter exchanges, politics looms large in the wake of the shooting.

The spark in Arizona's political firestorm was the border state's move to crack down on illegal immigration last summer, a bill proposed by conservative lawmakers and signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer.

The law known as SB 1070 'superheated the political divide more than I've ever seen it in Arizona,' said Bruce Merrill, a longtime political analyst and pollster at Arizona State University.

A majority of Arizonans supported it, but opponents and many in the large Hispanic population felt it was unconstitutional and would lead to discrimination.

As the law went into effect, U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat and opponent of SB 1070, closed a district office in Yuma after staff found a shattered window and a bullet inside.

Mrs Giffords favored a softer approach to illegal immigrants and was expected to push for comprehensive immigration reform in the Congress that was sworn in this week in Washington.

Other issues divided Arizona.

Come together: Arizonans across the political spectrum were united in their condemnation of the shooting last night

There was also anger over the economic crisis. The once-booming desert state was one of the places hardest hit by America's mortgage meltdown and foreclosure crisis.

Add to that rage over policies by Democratic President Barack Obama, namely his healthcare reform passed last year.

Then top it off with fury over the rising national debt. Both healthcare and debt were issues that rallied conservatives in the last elections, especially those tied to the Tea Party movement.

'I feel huge sorrow, that's just been building in southern Arizona for some time, this hate, hate, fear, somewhat around SB 1070, somewhat around healthcare reform. It definitely heated up when President Obama was elected,' said Molly McKasson Morgan, 63, who participated in Tucson politics and knew Giffords.

Mrs Giffords narrowly won her re-election in November over a candidate backed by the Tea Party.

'It's never been this angry, it's never been this divisive,' said Alfredo Gutierrez, a former state lawmaker.

And then there are the guns - always, in America, the guns.

Weapons like the 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun used in yesterday's killing spree are readily available in a state with relaxed gun control laws.

It is believed that Loughner was able to purchase the gun legally - despite having a criminal past.

'The number of guns and the angry people that have access to them is astonishing,' Gutierrez added.

'That combination of anger and guns in Arizona is almost an invitation to violence.'

Art Hamilton, who served 26 years in the state House and 18 years as its Democratic leader, said there is 'no question' that Arizona is at a low point in its governance.

'I do believe we see a point in the history of this state that we're practising the politics of division and subtraction, not multiplication and addition,' Mr Hamilton said.